CAMPUS DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF PLACEMENT & TRAINING 

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Reema Obaid Ross, PsyD 

Reema Obaid Ross is the Campus Director of the Office of Placement & Training as well as the Director of Clinical Training for the Department in Forensic Psychology. She obtained her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in 2011 and became a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in 2013. Dr. Obaid Ross completed her post-doctoral fellowship in Academic Community Leadership at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and Mt. Sinai Hospital: Under the Rainbow Program. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Behavioral Health Services. Prior to obtaining a doctorate degree, she completed a master's of science degree in Developmental Psychology from Illinois State University. Dr. Obaid Ross has trained and worked in various settings, including inpatient, outpatient and residential facilities, working with children, adolescents and adults. Her primary interests include training and supervision as well as clinical work with children and families, underserved populations, trauma and attachment theory. Dr. Obaid Ross currently has a small private practice in Chicago working with adults. 

Directors of Clinical Training (DCTs) & Associate Directors of Clinical Training (ADOTs): ​

Wendy Baker, PsyD 

Dr. Baker is an Associate Director of Clinical Training at The Office of Placement and Training in the Clinical PsyD-Chicago department. Dr. Baker's psychological clinical journey and training began at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, earning her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Adler University, Chicago Campus. Dr. Baker completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Behavioral Health Services. Dr. Baker has worked in a variety of clinical settings including foster care agencies, community mental health facilities, ER and hospital facilities, private practice, and residential settings. As a former Chicago Police Officer, Dr. Baker is naturally drawn to all facets of assessment, ethics, forensics, psychology, and the law.

Dr. Baker joined The Chicago School as an adjunct professor in the Summer, of 2022. Dr. Baker has a strong passion for teaching and clinical training. Dr. Baker's teaching philosophy emphasizes fostering critical thinking, ethical practice, and cultivating cultural competence, as well as evidence-based interventions and research. Dr. Baker enjoys supporting students in finding their unique path in psychology. Dr. Baker strives to provide a safe space for students to learn and be heard. Dr. Baker has taught a variety of doctoral-level psychological courses including Diagnostic Seminar, Integrative Healthcare, Intellectual Assessment, Integrative Assessment, Mental Health Law, and Professional Ethics. Dr. Baker's primary interests include training, diversity, multicultural competence, psychological assessment and supervision as well as clinical work across the lifespan with individuals, couples, and underserved populations.

​Marla Carson, PhD, NCSP 

Marla Carson, Ph.D., NCSP, received her doctoral degree in School Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. Currently she is a full time School Psychologist in a High School in a northwest suburb of Chicago. She joined the Chicago School of Professional Psychology as an Affiliate Professor in 2009. Her current research interests are in the areas of RtI at the secondary level, Autism and reading disorders.​

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Michelle Kalnasy Powell, PsyD 

Dr. Kalnasy Powell (Dr. KP) is a graduate of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and started teaching as an adjunct professor at TCSPP in 2017. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialty and passion for relationship/couple therapy. Her clinical work and interests focus on supporting folx to create meaningful and authentic connections in their lives. Dr. KP trained and worked in community mental health, college counseling, and private practice settings, working with a diverse range of clients, and presenting concerns. Outside of relationship therapy, Dr. KP has additional interest and training in identity and cultural concerns, trauma, fertility concerns, LGBQ+ and trans* affirming care, and substance use.

Dr. KP is passionate about training and teaching students and clinicians. Her previous roles allowed her to create a training program and supervise graduate students. Since 2016, Dr. KP has volunteered with Chicago Women's Health Center where she provided group supervision and continues to present to training cohorts and consult on various topics. Dr. KP currently maintains a limited private practice and provides supervision and consultation to other clinicians and organizations.

Dr. KP's research interests include intercultural relationships, burnout across various professions, and ethics in practice. Dr. KP is always interested in collaborating on research and supporting students in finding and pursuing a topic they are passionate about​.

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Charmon Parker Williams, Ph.D. 

Charmon Parker Williams, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Business Psychology Department at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Prior to her appointment as core faculty in 2013, Dr. Williams served as an adjunct instructor for the School, beginning in 2009. She has also served as an adjunct professor for Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Prior to working at The Chicago School, Dr. Williams achieved results in a variety of leadership roles in the corporate sector, including Program Manager for HR Strategy and Executive Talent Management for Hewitt Associates; Vice President for the Human Resources Management and Workforce Diversity Consulting Practice at James H. Lowry & Associates; Personnel Officer at Harris Trust and Savings Bank, and Personnel Psychologist for the United States Office of Personnel Management. She has a private consulting practice which focuses on Organizational Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership Assessment and Coaching, Strategic Planning for Non-Profits, and Training Facilitation. Her accomplishments transcend a variety of industries in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. A published author and speaker on leadership development, career management, and diversity, Dr. Williams has presented at several national conferences and has created a signature workshop and published a book on Personal Branding. Additionally, she has been a contributing writer for a number of industry related magazines for more than a decade. Dr. William's research interests include cross-cultural competency on global teams, factors associated with expatriate success, the application of I/O Psychology frameworks to small businesses and non-traditional industries, and career branding. 

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Rachel Nitzarim, PhD 

Dr. Nitzarim is the Director of The Office of Placement and Training (DCT) in the Clinical PsyD department. She obtained her Ph.D. from the Department of Counseling Psychology at UW-Madison in 2015. Throughout her training and early career, she has cultivated an interest in psychologist training, competency development and clinical supervision. Additionally, her research on social class and psychotherapy process and outcome has resulted in numerous publications in various career, qualitative and Counseling Psychology journals as well as a number of presentations at professional conferences. Finally, after training in a number of community mental health and counseling centers, and obtaining licensure as a Clinical Psychologist in the state of Illinois, she has found a passion for long term, psychodynamically-oriented and interpersonally-based clinical work. In addition to her position at The Chicago School, she is currently providing psychotherapy services to adolescents, adults and couples at her group private practice, Smith Psychotherapy Associates S.C. To date, Dr. Nitzarim has co-taught Supervision, Consultation and Professional Issues and Histor​y and Systems, a DBT-Lite elective course  and Intermediate Practicum Seminar. Areas of interest include issues related to social class, unemployment, low-income populations, psychotherapy process and outcome, psychology training, clinical supervision and psychologist competency.  

Chivon Niziolek, BCBA 

Chivon Niziolek has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2013 and before becoming Director of Clinical Training, worked in various clinical settings including schools, clinics, and residential settings. Chivon is passionate about providing quality behavioral analytic treatment to clients as well as quality supervision practices. Chivon's current research interests includes group contingencies, choice, choice overload, effort, and organizational behavior management (OBM).​

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Francis McClain, MA, LCPC, NCC 

Ms. McClain received her Masters in Counseling from Governors State University and is a licensed clinical professional counselor. She is the Director of Clinical Training in the Counseling Psychology Department since 2010 and worked as an adjunct instructor since 2008. She was the Program Director of Clinical Services at The Josselyn Center, a community mental health center on the North Shore for 10 years prior to joining staff at The Chicago School. Throughout her career she has worked in a number of different capacities that includes individual, family and group clinical work, clinical and administrative supervision, grant writing, program development and implementation, case management, psychosocial rehabilitation, community liaison work with both private and state psychiatric hospitals and consultation with mental health centers around program development and accreditation preparation. Her career journey has taken her from the far South suburbs, to DuPage County to the city and North Shore. She is currently Ph.D. candidate in the Counseling Education and Supervision program and working on her dissertation which is focused on the role of white mental health professionals engaged in anti-racist activist work. Ms. McClain has presented at the local, state, and national level on topics related to cultural competence, values conflicts, and human sexuality. Ms. McClain is on the editorial board of the Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education, and President-Elect and a founding member of the Association of Counseling Sexology and Sexual Wellness (ACSSW).  

Carly Tindall-Biggins, PhD, NCSP

Carly Tindall-Biggins, Ph.D., NCSP, is the Associate Director of Clinical Training for the School Psychology Department. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. Dr. Tindall-Biggins earned her doctoral degree in School Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. During her time in graduate school, Dr. Tindall-Biggins' research focused on examining factors related to the school-to-prison pipeline and supporting youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Her doctoral dissertation utilized a youth participatory action research design to examine the process of youth empowerment.

Prior to starting her role as Associate Director of Clinical Training, Dr. Tindall-Biggins worked as a school psychologist in a suburban high school. In this role, she engaged in diverse range of school psychological practice. Her roles and responsibilities included those related to collaborative problem-solving, multi-tiered systems of support, crisis response and intervention, and comprehensive case study evaluation.

Dr. Tindall-Biggins has experience teaching classes related to research methodology, systems change, neurodiversity, social-emotional assessment and intervention, and has overseen training-related courses. Previously, her research interests have included the utilization of participatory action research methods to examine the experiences of marginalized youth and increase collaboration between home, schools, and communities. Currently, Dr. Tindall-Biggins is working on research projects related to school psychologists' experiences in post-pandemic schools and school psychologists' experience with burnout and setting professional boundaries.​

Linda Robinson, PhD